Our present sedentary way of living characterized by an almost complete absence of intense
Although energetic food needs are lower, our food is still too rich in sugars and fats and too poor in alimentary fibers.
Many medical publications supported by media have sensitized the public opinion about the relationship existing between too high energy foods and fat absorption and health problems like obesity, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory troubles, etc., whence consumers are realizing the necessity of a healthier and more equilibrated food.
Moreover the idea that beauty is necessarily associated to slenderness leads to an increased demand of so-called xe2x80x9clightxe2x80x9d foodstuffs (with a low calorie and fat content).
Thus, there is presently a real need for appropriate food compositions to be used in an equilibrated alimentation, comprising a fat substitute and holding the gustative and physical properties of the conventional food compositions.
In other terms, the consumers require foodstuffs with a low calorie and fat content, but which should be as appetizing as conventional foodstuffs, i.e. those foodstuffs should have identical texture, mouth taste and flavour.
However, the fat content reduction in foodstuffs leads to deep changes of their organoleptic characteristics.
In that context, it is interesting to mention here the results of a taste evaluation test carried out by Leatherhead Food Research Associates (review of the conference xe2x80x9cDevelopment of low-fat/lower calorie food productsxe2x80x9d held in The Hague, March 1992) on spreading pastes. Spreading pastes with a reduced fat content have been always distinguished from other pastes with a normal fat content. Spreading pastes with a normal fat content were characterized by a smooth texture and a bright aspect, whereas those with a reduced fat content showed a different flavour and a granulous gelatinous firm texture.
Consequently, the fat content reduction in foodstuffs often requires to mix additive-agents to those foodstuffs so as to provide an acceptable texture. Thus, in the above-mentioned example, the spreading pastes contained gelatine, modified starch, xanthan gum and/or caseinate.
Another important problem lies on the physical and microbiological stability of those products.
When fat is removed from a food composition, it leads generally to a reduction of the dry material and an increase of the free water content.
Those changes in the food composition are expressed by a water activity change which is a measurement of the free water quantity in the food composition and influences particularly the product microbiological safety and stability.
Thus, low fat content spreading pastes requires adding a preservative agent such as potassium sorbate (not added to a high fat content product) which has a shorter lifetime.
The water activity and acidity are the two main factors that influence the product microbiological safety. For many products, it is thus important to know the principles of using acids as preservative agents, since the preservation effects vary with the acids and the quantities thereof.
In light foodstuffs, many fat substitutes have been marketed or are being developed.
The present situation of fat substitutes has been quite well described in the article xe2x80x9cLes substituts des graisses, lucratifs mais risquxc3xa9sxe2x80x9d published in International Food Ingredients, 1991, No 2, pp. 4-11.
Essentially all those products are characterized by a poor heat stability, which restricts their use to foodstuffs prepared at quite low temperatures.
Moreover the quality of the food compositions obtained by using those products is generally characterized by a less smooth texture, a thicker mouth taste and/or unwanted flavours.
The advantages associated with the use of inulin in food compositions have been patented by the company Raffinerie Tirlemontoise.
The use of fructanes such as for example inulin in food compositions has a number of advantages:
inulin is an easily available material which can be obtained from various plants such as Cichorium Intybus;
inulin is a polydisperse product with generic formula GFn (G=glucose, F=fructose, n varying from 2 to more than 60), the fructose units being connected to each other through a binding xcex2 (2xe2x88x921), and which presents, favorable nutritive properties such as its bifidogenous effect, alimentary fiber behaviour and very low calorie content ( less than 2 kcal/g).
Patent Application PCT/BE92/00042 describes particularly the use of a composition having a cream structure in:
ice cream: as a substitute for 50% or more of the fat material with excellent organoleptic characteristics;
waffles: as a substitute for 50% of the fat matter;
spreading pastes (of minarine type): as a partial substitute for oil and fat. A spreading paste composition is described therein with only 30% of fat with neither flavour nor texture alteration;
liver pie: as a substitute for a part of fat. A liver pie composition is described therein in which 15% fat and 15% inulin cream have been substituted for 30% fat (bacon), that means a 50% fat reduction.
Patent Application PCT/BE92/00043 describes hydrous lipophile compositions comprising an aqueous ingredient in which water is immobilized.
European Patent Application No 532 775 (under Ajinomoto""s name) describes a foodstuff containing a polyfructane prepared by a sugar or inulin enzymatic lengthening so as to obtain long chain polymers. The so-prepared polyfructane is used as a substitute for food components such as oil, fat, sugar, thickeners and/or gelling agents in foodstuffs. This polyfructane is substituted totally or partially for the food component.
That substitution is provided either with the addition of a pasty structure (20 or 25%) or with a polyfructane quantity equivalent to the quantity substituted.
Japanese Patent Application No 4 311 371 (under Ajinomoto""s name) describes water retention properties of a polyfructane of a molecular weight between 5,000 and 15,000,000. This polyfructane is substituted for an identical quantity of an available sugar in ice cream (example 8) or jam (examples 9 and 10).
On the other hand, that last-mentioned Patent Application mentions that polyfructane stabilizes deliquescence (tendency of the solid foodstuffs to absorb atmospheric moisture and to become liquid), preferably of solid foodstuffs which contain products such as polydextrose, fructoligosaccharide, aspartame, sorbitol, etc., which are known to be unstable.
All above-mentioned examples and applications offer possibilities to use other components as substitutes for fats and/or sugars in the food compositions.
The Applicant does not seek, however, to use other substances as substitutes for fats in foodstuffs, but aims at removing fats and consequently reducing product dry mattter with no addition of big quantities of other ingredients (except for water).
The fat content reduction in foodstuffs involves problems of microbiological stabilization and texture and flavour conservation in the product obtained when the dry matter quantity is reduced and/or the free water quantity is increased.
In the prior art, to palliate that problem, various additives are mixed with the foodstuffs.
For example, U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 91/03270 of First World Cheese describes the production of various low fat content cheese types from a milk containing 0.01% to 0.3% fats, adding carrageenan (0.06%) as a stabilizing agent to increase water retention.
The authors notice that, in absence of carrageenan, the cheeses obtained present a rough or pasty aspect and an unwanted smell.
U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 91/07100 of Kraft General Foods describes the production of a non fatty natural cheese from skim milk to which a microgel (product made from alginates) or an hydrocolloid (made from agar, carrageenan, xanthan, etc.) is added, which according to the authors provides to the finish product with a flavour identical to fat.
It is to be noticed that the additive content varies from 0.5 to 50% on base of dry matter.
Although the incorporation of additives allows at some extent to settle the problem of stabilization in lower fat content foodstuffs, their presence in said products will lead to distrust reactions and even reject from the consumers sensitized by a concept of healthy food free from any xe2x80x9cforeignxe2x80x9d additive as much as possible. Moreover, the use of additives in foodstuffs in various countries is strictly regulated, the harmonization between the various laws being not yet carried out.
The present invention aims at providing a stabilized lower dry matter foodstuff, particularly with a lower fat content and which has stabilized texture and mouth taste as well as an improved microbiological time stability.
Particularly, the present invention aims at providing a foodstuff which does not require any addition of important quantities of food additives as stabilizing agent, emulsifier or similar.
It is possible to obtain an avantageous substitution for 5 to 75 wt % fat content in a foodstuff of small quantities (from 1 to 15 wt %) of a natural food component comprising a fructane or a fructane mixture, while providing the texture, mouth taste and microbiological time stability in said foodstuff in spite of a reduction of the dry matter content.
The so obtained food composition is characterized by a fructane or a fructane mixture content of 1 to 25% with respect to water contained in said food composition without that mixture giving rise to the formation of a creamy structure, nor behaving as a creamy structure nor being used as a cream as described in Patent Application PCT/BE92/00042.
Many light foodstuffs in which there is used water or a mixture of water and a fat substitute for fat, have clearly lower texture, mouth taste and microbiological stability than standard foodstuffs.
It has been shown surprisingly that the advantageous reduction of large fat quantities and the addition of small quantities of a natural food component comprising a fructane or a fructane mixture in a foodstuff do not alter the organoleptic properties (texture, mouth taste, etc.) of said foodstuff.
In other words, it is possible to hold the stability of a foodstuff by reducing its quantity of dry matter (that is to say by increasing the water percentage) while adding a fructane to said foodstuff.
Thereafter, the term xe2x80x9cstabilized food compositionxe2x80x9d means a food composition containing a natural food component (such as fats, sugars, etc.) comprising a fructane or a fructane mixture allowing to reduce the dry matter in said foodstuff while providing its stabilization.
Advantageously, said fructane can for example consist in the product Raftiline(copyright) developed and marketed by the company Raffinerie Tirlemontoise. Raftiline(copyright) contains inulin, which is a easily available substance obtained from various wide-spread plants, more particularly in the case of Raftiline(copyright) from Cichorium Intybus.
Inulin is a polydisperse composition of saccharides having the formula GFn (G=glucose, F=fructose, n varying from 2 to 60), the fructose units of which are connected to each other by a binding xcex2 (2xe2x88x921).
Besides inulin (a saccharide the polymerization degree of which is higher than 2) which represents more than 92% of the dry matter, Raftiline(copyright) also contains glucose and fructose (2% of the dry matter) as well as saccharose (6% of the dry matter). Raftiline(copyright) is thus characterized by a slightly sweetened taste (10% of saccharose one) with no after-taste and by a neutral smell.
Moreover, the presence of low molecular weight saccharides can result in inconvenience in terms of tolerance to Raftiline(copyright) during digestion (feeling of swelling and intestinal pressure). Thus, it is particularly advantageous to reduce the total proportion of said components in foodstuffs such as pork meat products and other meat-based products where the sweetening capacity of a product is particularly disadvantageous.
According to the invention, it is thus favourable to substitute for the fat matter present in a foodstuff, such as meat-based food preparations, very small quantities of Raftiline(copyright) while providing the stability of said foodstuff.
Advantageously, fructane or a component of the fructane mixture is unbranched inulin, branched inulin or partially, hydrolyzed inulin the favourable nutritive properties are described in Patent Application PCT/BE91/00042 incorporated therein by reference.
Advantageously, inulin is free from any saccharides the polymerization degree of which is lower than or equal to two, preferably free from saccharides the polymerization degree of which is lower than or equal to 10.
Water in foodstuffs may exist as free water or bound water. Free water may xe2x80x9cmigratexe2x80x9d into the foodstuff, act as a solvant, react biochemically and assist in microbiological growth.
Bound water is associated to other chemical entities in the foodstuff through generally weak interactions, but which can go up to important chemical bindings.
Water activity is a parameter to quantify the free water content in a product.
Surprisingly, the advantageous substitution for 5 to 75 wt. % fat content in a foodstuff by small quantities of a natural food component comprising a fructane or a fructane mixture, does not lead to an increase of water activity and consequently the free water quantity in the food composition is not increased.
Thus, said foodstuffs do not require synthetic additives.
The invention will be now described more in details in the following examples given only as an illustration of the invention.